On Thursday afternoon, the city of Los Angeles will effectively come to a halt to honor the life of one of its own: Nipsey Hussle. The rapper, who was murdered last week in front of his own clothing store in L.A. — his hometown which he’d dedicated his life and career to uplifting through entrepreneurial and philanthropic work — will be laid to rest today with a public memorial service, the Celebration of Life & Legacy of Nipsey Hussle. The memorial will begin at the Staples Center at 10 a.m. PT, where thousands are expected to attend after free tickets sold out in minutes. (The last time the Staples Center was used for such an event was in 2009 for Michael Jackson’s memorial service.) Per Variety, a program for the service says there will be performances from Stevie Wonder, Jhené Aiko, Marsha Ambrosias, and Anthony Hamilton, as well as remarks from close collaborator and friend YG, Snoop Dogg, and actress Lauren London, Hussle’s longtime girlfriend and mother of his son.
Immediately following the service, there will be a 25.5-mile funeral procession that’ll pass through downtown Los Angeles, Inglewood, South L.A., and Watts — all of the locations essential to Hussle’s life, including the Marathon Clothing store where he was ultimately gunned down. (That intersection, Crenshaw Boulevard and West Slauson Avenue, will officially be renamed Ermias “Nipsey Hussle†Asghedom Square, the city council has announced.) The procession will conclude at Angelus Funeral Home in the Crenshaw district; the Nation of Islam will provide security along the way.
For those who could not secure a ticket or will not be in the area, there are a number of ways to watch the memorial service from home. The event will air live on BET commercial-free (as well as on their site and BET News’ Facebook page), and will stream on Tidal (no subscription required) and CBS’s YouTube channel, below. All coverage begins at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET.